January 8, 2025
Welcome to The Climb, your weekly journey with Lifecycle Sherpa, where we explore Parkinson’s Disease, its symptoms, treatments, tips, techniques, and build a supportive and knowledgeable community.
This week’s trail leads us to… Insomnia.
Question: What is it, how is it experienced and why does it happen?
Answer: A very common symptom, it is experienced in two ways. The most common form in Parkinson’s Disease is called ‘sleep maintenance insomnia’ and is described as having difficulty staying asleep. The less common form is trouble falling asleep, or ‘sleep onset insomnia’.
This is caused as a result of degeneration of parts of the brain associated with the sleep-wake cycle. It is also caused by the motor symptoms and nonmotor psychiatric symptoms associated with PD, as well as medications.
Tips to address Insomnia:
- Stay very active during the day in order to force your body and mind to be tired at night
- Limit water intake after dinner to limit nocturia
- Exercise daily!
- Medications (speak to your doctor about details)
- Speak to a psychologist
- Meditate prior to going to sleep to clear your mind
- Practice good sleep hygiene (stay tuned for additional tips on sleep hygiene)
We always encourage feedback, as it helps us enhance our community. Feel free to reach out regarding future topics you want to learn about, or how we can improve your experience.
See you next week!